Baseball: Cubs agree with Bryant on unprecedented $10.85 million deal

Major League Baseball players Kris Bryant (L) and Joey Gallo ride in a Lyft and Aptiv self-driving car during CES 2018 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 9, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Lyft/AFP

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Chicago Cubs slugger Kris Bryant agreed on a one-year, $10.85 million (8.89 million euros) deal with the Chicago Cubs on Friday, a record for a player in his first year of eligibility for salary arbitration.

Bryant’s deal surpasses the $10 million deal Ryan Howard made with the Philadelphia Phillies before the 2008 season.

Bryant and Howard each won National League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in their first two seasons in Major League Baseball.

Bryant, who has received MVP votes in all three of his major league seasons, hit .295 with 29 home runs last season for the Cubs.

Chicago paid him $1.05 million in 2017, which was a record by $50,000 for a player not yet eligible for salary arbitration.

Bryant was among the five arbitration-eligible Cubs players who reached agreement with the team before the deadline for unsigned players to exchange salary arbitration figures with the club.

Shortstop Addison Russell agreed to terms on a $3.2 million contract while infielder Tommy La Stella and pitchers Justin Wilson and Kyle Hendricks also came to terms.